1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

ALUMINUM

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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

This public health statement tells you about aluminum and the effects of exposure to it.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation. These sites are then placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) and are targeted for long-term federal clean-up activities. Aluminum (in some form, e.g., in compounds with other elements such as oxygen, sulfur, or phosphorus) has been found at elevated levels in at least 596 of the 1,699 current or former NPL sites. Although the total number of NPL sites evaluated for this substance is not known, the possibility exists that the number of sites at which aluminum is found may increase in the future as more sites are evaluated. This information is important because these sites may be sources of exposure and exposure to this substance at high levels may be harmful.

When a substance is released either from a large area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. Such a release does not always lead to exposure. You can be exposed to a substance only when you come in contact with it. You may be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking the substance, or by skin contact. However, it should be noted that aluminum is a very abundant and widely distributed element and will be found in most rocks, soils, waters, air, and foods. You will always have some exposure to low levels of aluminum from eating food, drinking water, and breathing air.

If you are exposed to aluminum, many factors will determine whether you will be harmed. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider any other chemicals you are exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.

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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

1.1 WHAT IS ALUMINUM?

Description

Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust and it is widely distributed.

Aluminum is a very reactive element and is never found as the free metal in nature. It is found combined with other elements, most commonly with oxygen, silicon, and fluorine. These chemical compounds are commonly found in soil, minerals (e.g., sapphires, rubies, turquoise), rocks (especially igneous rocks), and clays.

Aluminum as the metal is obtained from aluminum-containing minerals, primarily bauxite.

Aluminum metal is light in weight and silvery-white in appearance.

Uses ? Aluminum metal

Aluminum is used to make beverage cans, pots and pans, airplanes, siding and roofing, and foil.

Powdered aluminum metal is often used in explosives and fireworks.

? Aluminum Aluminum compounds are used in many diverse and important industrial compounds applications such as alums (aluminum sulfate) in water-treatment and alumina in abrasives and furnace linings.

? Consumer products

Aluminum is found in consumer products including: ? antacids ? astringents ? buffered aspirin ? food additives ? antiperspirants ? cosmetics

For more information on the physical and chemical properties of aluminum and its production, disposal, and use, see Chapters 4 and 5.

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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

1.2 WHAT HAPPENS TO ALUMINUM WHEN IT ENTERS THE ENVIRONMENT?

Sources

Aluminum occurs naturally in soil, water, and air.

High levels in the environment can be caused by the mining and processing of aluminum ores or the production of aluminum metal, alloys, and compounds.

Small amounts of aluminum are released into the environment from coal-fired power plants and incinerators.

Break down

Aluminum cannot be destroyed in the environment. It can only change its form or become attached or separated from particles.

? Air

? Water and soil

Aluminum particles in air settle to the ground or are washed out of the air by rain. However, very small aluminum particles can stay in the air for many days.

Most aluminum-containing compounds do not dissolve to a large extent in water unless the water is acidic or very alkaline.

For more information on aluminum in the environment, see Chapter 6. 1.3 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO ALUMINUM?

Food--primary source of exposure

Unprocessed foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat contain very little aluminum.

Aluminum compounds may be added during processing of foods, such as: ? flour ? baking powder ? coloring agents ? anticaking agents

An average adult in the United States eats about 7?9 mg of aluminum per day in their food.

Air

Most people take in very little aluminum from breathing. Levels of aluminum

in the air generally range from 0.005 to 0.18 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3), depending on location, weather conditions, and type and level of

industrial activity in the area. Most of the aluminum in the air is in the form of

small suspended particles of soil (dust).

Aluminum levels in urban and industrial areas may be higher and can range from 0.4 to 8.0 g/m3.

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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

Water and soil

Consumer Products

The concentration of aluminum in natural waters (e.g., ponds, lakes, streams) is generally below 0.1 milligrams per liter (mg/L).

People generally consume little aluminum from drinking water. Water is sometimes treated with aluminum salts while it is processed to become drinking water. But even then, aluminum levels generally do not exceed 0.1 mg/L. Several cities have reported concentrations as high as 0.4? 1 mg/L of aluminum in their drinking water.

People are exposed to aluminum in some cosmetics, antiperspirants, and pharmaceuticals such as antacids and buffered aspirin.

? Antacids have 300?600 mg aluminum hydroxide (approximately 104? 208 mg of aluminum) per tablet, capsule, or 5 milliliter (mL) liquid dose. Little of this form of aluminum is taken up into the bloodstream. ? Buffered aspirin may contain 10?20 mg of aluminum per tablet ? Vaccines may contain small amounts of aluminum compounds, no greater than 0.85 mg/dose.

For more information on how you might be exposed to aluminum, see Chapter 6.

1.4 HOW CAN ALUMINUM ENTER AND LEAVE MY BODY?

Enter your body ? Inhalation

A small amount of the aluminum you breathe will enter your body through your lungs.

? Ingestion

A very small amount of the aluminum in food or water will enter your body through the digestive tract. An extremely small amount of the aluminum found in antacids will be absorbed.

? Dermal contact

A very small amount may enter through your skin when you come into contact with aluminum.

Leave your body Most aluminum in food, water, and medicines leaves your body quickly in the feces. Much of the small amount of aluminum that does enter the bloodstream will quickly leave your body in the urine.

For more information on how aluminum enters and leaves the body, see Chapter 3.

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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

1.5 HOW CAN ALUMINUM AFFECT MY HEALTH?

This section looks at studies concerning potential health effects in animal and human studies.

Workers ? Inhalation

Humans ? Oral

Laboratory animals

? Inhalation ? Oral

Workers who breathe large amounts of aluminum dusts can have lung problems, such as coughing or changes that show up in chest X-rays. The use of breathing masks and controls on the levels of dust in factories have largely eliminated this problem.

Some workers who breathe aluminum-containing dusts or aluminum fumes have decreased performance in some tests that measure functions of the nervous system.

Oral exposure to aluminum is usually not harmful. Some studies show that people exposed to high levels of aluminum may develop Alzheimer's disease, but other studies have not found this to be true. We do not know for certain that aluminum causes Alzheimer's disease.

Some people who have kidney disease store a lot of aluminum in their bodies. The kidney disease causes less aluminum to be removed from the body in the urine. Sometimes, these people developed bone or brain diseases that doctors think were caused by the excess aluminum.

Although aluminum-containing over the counter oral products are considered safe in healthy individuals at recommended doses, some adverse effects have been observed following long-term use in some individuals.

Lung effects have been observed in animals exposed to aluminum dust. Scientists do not know if these effects are dur to the aluminum or to the animals breathing in a lot of dust.

Studies in animals show that the nervous system is a sensitive target of aluminum toxicity. Obvious signs of damage were not seen in animals after high oral doses of aluminum. However, the animals did not perform as well in tests that measured the strength of their grip or how much they moved around.

Further information on the health effects of aluminum in humans and animals can be found in Chapters 2 and 3.

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